Accordion Crimes [Paperback]

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Proulx brings the immigrant experience to life in this stunning novel that traces the ownership of a simple green accordion.

E. Annie Proulx’sAccordion Crimesis a masterpiece of storytelling that spans a century and a continent. Proulx brings the immigrant experience in America to life through the eyes of the descendants of Mexicans, Poles, Africans, Irish-Scots, Franco-Canadians and many others, all linked by their successive ownership of a simple green accordion. The music they make is their last link with the past—voice for their fantasies, sorrows and exuberance. Proulx’s prodigious knowledge, unforgettable characters and radiant language makeAccordion Crimesa stunning novel, exhilarating in its scope and originality.Accordion Crimes: A Novel
By Annie Proulx
Reading Group Discussion Guide
1. Describe the maker of the green, two-row button accordion that gets transferred from character to character over the course of a century inAccordion Crimes.What does he hope to do with accordions in America, and how does his dream get interrupted?
2. Who are the three Germans-Beutle, Messermacher, and Loats-who settle the town of Prank, and why are they loved and loathed by their community? How are they affected by anti-German sentiment? Compare their experiences as European immigrants to the Midwest to the prejudices encountered by the Sicilian accordion maker in New Orleans.
3. How is Abelardo Relampago Salazar defined by his accordion? When he tells his daughter, Felida: A woman cannot play the accordion. It is a man's instrument, what does he mean? Why does Abelardo conceal the thousand-dollar bills inside his instrument, and what is significant about the manner in which he earns them?
4. He wanted to play that music, music that belonged to him by blood inheritance, but could not learn it because he didn't speak French. What is ironic about Dolor Gals&